2020 Forest River Cherokee problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Tires (4) · Wheels (1) · Suspension (1)
Safety recalls (7)
Structure:frame And Members 2024-01-05 · campaign 24V003000 · 302 vehicles
Defect: Forest River, Inc. (Forest River) is recalling certain 2020 Cherokee travel trailers. The draw bar locking mechanism may break, which can cause the front end of the trailer to contact the road.
Risk: A trailer that contacts the road during transit increases the risk of a crash or injury.
Fix: Dealers will replace the Ice Hose swing arm draw bars, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed February 5, 2024. Owners may contact Forest River customer service at 1-574-825-4995. Forest River's number for this recall is 95-1705.
Electrical System 2020-10-26 · campaign 20V654000 · 9,261 vehicles
Defect: Forest River, Inc. (Forest River) is recalling certain 2019-2021 Cherokee recreational trailers. The shore cord inlet wiring insulation may not have been sufficiently stripped back, causing a poor connection with the set screw.
Risk: A poor electrical connection can increase the risk of a fire.
Fix: Forest River will notify owners, and dealers will remove the inlet, and rewire or replace the inlet completely if necessary, free of charge. The recall began November 23, 2020. Owners may contact Forest River customer service at 1-260-499-2100. Forest River's number for this recall is 17D-1201.
Equipment:recreational Vehicle/Trailer 2020-02-12 · campaign 20V075000 · 4,464 vehicles
Defect: Forest River, Inc. (Forest River) is recalling certain 2019-2020 Surveyor, NO BO, Cherokee, R. POD, Clipper, Viking, Independence, Puma and East to West trailers. The spare tire carrier U-bolts may fail allowing the spare tire carrier and spare tire detach from the vehicle.
Risk: If the spare tire carrier and spare tire detach from the vehicle while in motion, it can become a road hazard and increase the risk of a crash.
Fix: Forest River will notify owners, and dealers will replace U-bolts, free of charge. The recall began March 20, 2020. Owners may contact Surveyor, NO BO, R. and POD customer service at 1-574-642-3119, Independence, Viking, and Clipper customer service at 1-269-467-4600, Puma customer service at -574-642-0606, East and West customer service at 1-574-264-6664 or Cherokee customer service at 1-877-426-5337. Forest River's number for this recall is 51-1133.
Trailer Hitches 2019-11-25 · campaign 19V844000 · 328 vehicles
Defect: Forest River, Inc. (Forest River) is recalling certain 2018-2020 Cascade and Cherokee travel trailers. The Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) of the vehicle exceeds the GVWR of the trailer hitch coupler, potentially resulting in the coupler failing and the trailer detaching.
Risk: A trailer that detaches from the tow vehicle can increase the risk of a crash.
Fix: Forest River will notify owners and dealers will replace the coupler, free of charge. The recall began February 17, 2020. Owners may contact Forest River customer service at 1-260-499-2100 or 1-541-995-3447. Forest River's number for this recall is 64-1114.
Equipment:electrical 2019-11-01 · campaign 19V785000 · 154 vehicles
Defect: Forest River, Inc. (Forest River) is recalling certain 2020 Cherokee Alpha Wolf Travel Trailers. The wire supplying the 12V power for the refrigerator may have been connected incorrectly to the circuit breaker.
Risk: The incorrectly connected wire may not have overcurrent protection, allowing the wire to melt, increasing the risk of fire.
Fix: Forest River has notified owners, and dealers will correct the wiring, free of charge. The recall began November 19, 2019. Owners may contact Forest River customer service at 1-260-499-2100. Forest River's number for this recall is 76-1109.
Electrical System:wiring 2019-09-20 · campaign 19V668000 · 53 vehicles
Defect: Forest River, Inc. (Forest River) is recalling certain 2020 Cherokee trailers, models CKT16BF-D, CKT16BFH-D, CKT16GR-D and CKT16GRH-D. The protective paneling may not have been installed around the distribution panel, allowing the distribution panel wiring to be exposed in a storage compartment, which can lead to damage to the panel and wiring.
Risk: Damaged distribution panel wiring can increase the risk of electrical shock or fire.
Fix: Forest River will notify owners, and dealers will install a divider in the storage compartment to ensure the distribution panel wiring is protected, free of charge. The recall began October 9, 2019. Owners may contact Forest River customer service at 1-260-499-2100. Forest River's number for this recall is 17D-1089.
Equipment:other:labels 2019-06-14 · campaign 19V453000 · 70 vehicles
Defect: Forest River, Inc. (Forest River) is recalling certain 2019-2020 Cherokee trailers, model CKT294BH. The Federal Placard states incorrect Cargo Carrying Capacity (CCC) and Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) information, which may result in the trailer being overloaded.
Risk: An operator may rely on the incorrect Placard information and overload the trailer causing a loss of control and increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Forest River has notified owners, providing replacement placards that contain accurate Gross Vehicle Weight Rating and Cargo Carrying Capacity information, free of charge. The recall began June 24, 2019. Owners may contact Forest River customer service at 1-541-995-3447. Forest River's number for this recall is 64-1033.
Service bulletins (1)
Technical service bulletins are repair instructions manufacturers send dealers for known issues. Unlike recalls, the fix is not automatically free — but naming the bulletin at the service desk can save diagnosis time and support goodwill repairs.
Electrical System 2025-03-19 · 511906 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
generic drawing of a 87a relay wiring diagram for holding tank warmers.
What owners report
2025-07-09 · Electrical System · 🔥 fire“the contact owned a 2020 forest river cherokee. the contact stated that while inside the vehicle, while it was parked in the driveway, an abnormal chemical odor was emitting from the interior and exterior of the vehicle. in addition, afterward, a fuel-burning odor was emitted from the interior and exterior of the vehicle. the contact exited the veh…”
2023-12-19 · Structure:body“there are 2 major defects that we would like to make the nhtsa aware of and feel that the manufacturer should issue a recall and have these issues properly fixed. our 2020 forest river camper/ice house has a structural defect and the entire camper is breaking away from the frame. we had this confirmed by a service company that specializes in rv fra…”
2023-07-10 · Tires“was driving at speed 60-65 mile per hour and tire blew out caused severe damage to the trailer. …”
2023-05-22 · Tires“castle rock st225/75r15 as originally equipped on 2020 wolf pup travel trailer. approximately 4000-5000 miles total on tire. properly inflated and visually inspected prior to trip. load estimated at 70% of rating. tire explosively failed without warning at highway speed. second tire same brand/model/age/conditions failed in similar circumstance app…”
2023-02-13 · Tires“this warning and complaint pertains to recreational vehicle tires, castle rock/lionshead st 225/75r15. three tires blew up, exploded, causing damage to the side and underside of the rv. the 4th shows signs of delamination. the tires have a dot number jul t. the tires were on an rv purchased new in 2020, less than 3 years old, with less than 5000 mi…”
2021-10-12 · Tires · 2,000 mi“the contact owns a 2020 forest river cherokee equipped with castle rock radial st22, size: 205/75/r14 dot number: jujtymt2418. the contact stated while at a standstill the passenger front tire exploded without warning. the manufacturer was informed of failure and the contact is awaiting a response. the failure mileage was approximately 2,000.…”
2021-09-22 · Equipment:mechanical:integrated Jack/Leveler/Stabilizer:safety Lockout · 3,000 mi“the contact owns a 2020 forest river cherokee. the contact stated that while the rv was parked, the contact started to unhook the landing the gear on the rv and noticed that the jacking system used to raise and lower the rv was not raised all the way up and keeping the rv in place. the contact took the rv to the local dealer to be inspected. the co…”
2021-07-16 · Structure:body:roof And Pillars“2020 forest river cherokee. consumer writes in regards to roof leaking in rv. the dealer and manufacturer had been notified, but neither offered any assistance.…”
2021-02-03 · Electrical System:ignition“tl* the contact owns a 2020 forest river cherokee. the contact stated while staring and turning the ignition switch, it fractured and continued to rotate. the contact called outlet recreation (2088 202nd st e clearwater, mn 55320; (320) 373-9139) where informed to upgrade to hydraulic handles. the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. the manufact…”
2020-07-01 · Unknown Or Other · 250 mi“i purchased a forest river wolf pup travel trailer july 2019. it was documented to have a 30 gal fresh water tank. after purchase i find out it has 20 gal fresh tank. the trailer weight label fixed to trailer states weight includes weight of 30 gal fresh water capacity. based on the incorrect weight listed, i do not know actual weight of trailer ma…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.